The Applied Diplomacy undergraduate program offers students the opportunity to pursue both traditional and non-traditional approaches to the field. Students must complete:
Major Requirements
Core Courses
Students are required to complete nine core courses (60 credit hours). The core courses are designed to introduce students to foundational approaches to the study of diplomatic studies, urbanism, international relations, international political economy, comparative politics and mediation.
Concentration Courses
Students must also complete six concentration courses (24 credit hours; at least three of which must be at the 300-level) Upon declaring a concentration, students will be assigned an advisor with whom they should consult regarding course selection and experiential learning options congruent with their interests. Advisors also serve as mentors to the students as they apply the insights gained from their concentration courses to the work of the integrating seminar (APD 350). Students can choose from among of the following concentrations:
- Diplomacy and International Relations
- Diplomacy and International Political Economy
- Urban Diplomacy
- Diplomacy, Non-Governmental Organizations and Peacebuilding
- Diplomacy, Culture and Identity
- Diplomacy and the Arts
- Diplomacy and Critical Theory
- Diplomacy and Religion
- Diplomacy and International Law
- History of Diplomacy
Modern Language Courses
The Applied Diplomacy program stresses the importance of language study for its students and offers ample opportunity to advance linguistic and cultural competence. All majors are required to complete a minimum of six language study courses (24 credit hours), and encouraged to go beyond this minimum if possible. Any courses taken must align with the incoming language proficiency level of the student, and will be taken according to the following guidelines:
For students with no second language background:
- Six courses to develop intermediate proficiency of a new language.
For students with some knowledge of another language:
- Option A: six courses to refine the linguistic and communicative intercultural skills of the language in which the student already has proficiency;
- Option B: A total of six language courses across two languages, including one to five courses in the modern language in which they have some experience, to achieve at a minimum intermediate proficiency in that language; and one to five courses in a second language of their choice.
Students are encouraged to begin their language studies as soon as possible following their declaration of an Applied Diplomacy major.
The six course language requirement cannot be waived. English as a second language cannot count for this modern language requirement.
Experiential Learning Course
All Applied Diplomacy majors must complete an experiential learning requirement (4 credit hours). Ideally, this requirement should be satisfied by an internship or an international study abroad program linked to the concentration chosen by the student, but the following options are all appropriate:
- Internships
- International Study Abroad
- Exchange Programs
- Global Learning Experience (GLE) Opportunities
Liberal Studies Program and Open Electives
Courses in the Liberal Studies Program and open elective credit hours are also required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 credit hours.